Unions condemn mockery of supermarket cashiers

LRT reports that Lithuania’s trade unions have criticised remarks mocking supermarket cashiers, saying the comments reinforce stereotypes about a profession that employs more than 50,000 people.

Sonata, who has worked at the same supermarket for 10 years, jokes that only the strongest employees have remained since the store opened. Her work has changed significantly: cashiers now not only serve customers but also supervise self-service checkouts, restock goods and collect orders.

Debate over the profession intensified this week after remarks by designer Juozas Statkevičius spread on social media. In an excerpt from an older programme, he said women working at cash registers sat with false eyelashes and could only “sit at the checkout and imagine they are stars”.

The Lithuanian Confederation of Trade Unions shared the excerpt and called for greater intolerance of mockery based on a person’s profession. Its public relations representative, Jūratė Čilinskaitė, said the post was deliberate and that the organisation planned to draw more attention to undervalued professions.

“Those words really put a label on and humiliated a certain group of workers. It suggests that the people sitting at checkouts belong to the lowest caste,” Čilinskaitė said. She added that highly intelligent and well-educated people work at cash registers, sometimes after unexpectedly losing another job.

Sonata previously worked as an accountant. She said people with varied backgrounds become cashiers and that more school pupils and students have joined the profession in recent years.

“I did not like sedentary work at all, and it was difficult for my health, while there is a lot of movement in a supermarket. I do not work only at the checkout, so I get enough movement and interaction with people,” she said.

Cashier was one of Lithuania’s most common professions last year, when 55,000 people worked in the occupation. The number of cashiers is declining as self-service checkouts are introduced, but the responsibilities of those who remain are increasing.

Jurgis Valiukevičius drew on his own experience working at a supermarket checkout when he helped establish the May 1 Trade Union, an organisation known for representing workers in various fields, including couriers and ride-hailing drivers. He has also written about the work behind the scenes at supermarkets on his blog.

Valiukevičius, who is an adviser to Minister Inga Ruginienė in the Seimas and a member of the Green Party, said the profession may be undervalued because it is paid relatively little.

“Perhaps naturally, when that work is financially undervalued in the labour market, it seems that it is chosen only by those who supposedly can no longer do anything else in life,” he said.

Although several trade unions represent supermarket workers in Lithuania, Valiukevičius said it was difficult for them to establish themselves and operate because of the influence of retail chains. He said this also contributed to cashiers being viewed as inferior professionals. Alongside wages close to the minimum, he highlighted long shifts and difficult psychological conditions.